Actually, Brown said that "it's sad", the situation (a president stooping so low as to launch personal attacks on American citizens exercising their rights to free speech, and attacking them with smug condescension).

Brown didn't say that he, Brown, was sad. He said that this situation is sad -- a sorry state of affairs.

At some point, I expect Althouse to discover that Scott Brown is stoooopid, in an epiphany similar to that she experienced with respect to Palin.

Obama was also factually wrong - again. I think because all this is just words to him - written by someone else, and he just reads them off the teleprompter - which is also why he will contradict himself in successive speeches given in the same week. The speeches were written by different writers, and there is no one at the White House checking for consistency - because this is all just about the tactics of the moment. The overall aims and strategy is something entirely else.

This quote by Obama exposes the terrible disrespect and disdain that Liberals hold Americans in. The underlying pride in a superior vision is what pushes the Marxists into wholesale murder sooner or later. They see us as as too dumb to live...and then when all power is taken, they start the massacres. No wonder Clinton recommends a step and fetch it innocence when facing the powers being readied to attack what we still hold to be true and to be privately owned.

I wonder if the One-der will be amused when his socialist ass is sitting back in Chicago on Jan. 21st 2013? This November will make him a lame duck, on a descending path to the end of this social experiment that America foisted upon itself as history has shown us to do every 50 to 60 years.

I don't think many people really give a crap what Captain Asteroid thinks of them these days. He's a joke.But when the people he's now mocking show his whiny one-term ass the door, we'll be amused to no end.

WHAT!? How dare he! Feminists like myself will be up in arms about this!

No man is allowed to use an emotional word such as "sad" in a political context - not unless we at Feminist Central Command grant him a special exception! To do so is akin to domestic violence... or even RAPE.

RAPE! RAPE! RAPE!

Scott Brown raped all of America's women with his "sad". What a monster!

What's sad is that Althouse has to know that the partiers are, in general, complete idiots. But, she says nothing and instead encourages them.

The fact that they're idiots is, once again, provable. Instead of concentrating on things that are effective, they - like cults - concentrate on group physical actions and rites: chanting, waving loopy signs, singing along with a lounge singer, and on and on.

Another example of their stupidity is evident right on Althouse's site. No partier here has ever even tried to provide a logical response to any of my comments. Few of them can understand my comments, what I'm getting at, and why I say what I do.

Instead, all they can do is hurl obscenities, smear, and lie. And, that's despite the fact that the partiers and I share many opponents, even if the partiers aren't smart enough to know about many of those opponents. The partiers put smearing me ahead of what's in their best interests and, in fact, they've consistently engaged in other actions against their own interests.

They really are the lowest of the low, and Althouse should point that out rather than encouraging mass stupidity.

SorosFundedTroll: Another example of their stupidity is evident right on Althouse's site. No partier here has ever even tried to provide a logical response to any of my comments. Few of them can understand my comments, what I'm getting at, and why I say what I do.

Yes LoneWacko, we get that you care SO much about Tea Party, thats why you spend all your time attacking them instead of the policies they oppose.

I'm betting you went in to interview as a campaign strategist or somesuch, and they didn't take you seriously. So you dedicated yourself to broadcasting how "stupid" they are. Way to go.

And I hate to break it you, but Soros will never promote you to Assistant to the General Manager. No matter how much swill you swallow.

Actually lonewackjob, the lowest of the low have been on display for years before the TP's existed. You know the ones. The people who spent 8 years spewing lies and hatred under a laughable "anti-war" umbrella. The self-obsessed play actors who siezed on a time of national crisis to further damage our national standing. All of those protesters, and not a few high Dem officials, are truly the worst of the worst.By conjuring up enough hatred of Bush and Cheney, the Obamas of the world were able to amass a constituency of simple minded people willing to act against their own self interests and elect a "community organizer" from the dirtiest City in American politics. And now while Obama merrily carries on in the same way as Bush (Gitmo, drone strikes, rendition, Patriot Act) all the cowards and fools who were so stridently "pro-peace" are completely silent. Foul hypocrites of the lowest order.

Another example of their stupidity is evident right on Althouse's site. No partier here has ever even tried to provide a logical response to any of my comments. Few of them can understand my comments, what I'm getting at, and why I say what I do.

God knows, I tried once. I learned the wisdom of the old saying, "Ya know what's great about banging your head against the wall? It feels so good when it stops."

Instead, all they can do is hurl obscenities, smear, and lie. And, that's despite the fact that the partiers and I share many opponents, even if the partiers aren't smart enough to know about many of those opponents. The partiers put smearing me ahead of what's in their best interests and, in fact, they've consistently engaged in other actions against their own interests.

This open contempt towards the tea parties seems to be a strategy Axelrod has been oozing since last august. Ignore them, pat them on the head, snicker at them. But to what end? Why do they beat the bee hive? Its not stoking their base and it looks tone deaf to what is actually going on now in this country. Weird. Maybe its just their incompetance in display?

Brownie - "“I find it sad that the president gets personal with these groups who are just expressing themselves in a respectful manner.”

Gee, this yahoo finds it "sad" that he takes a shot at people who say he isn't an American citizen, that he's a Marxist, Communist, Socialist...all while he cuts taxes on this same group of tea bagger morons?

All Presidents have taken verbal shot at their political opponents, tea bagger or not.

Read some of Ronnie "The Saint" Reagan's quotes and tell me how "sad" Brownie would be about them.

Here's a nice one relating to what to do about student disruptions at UC Berkeley, quoted in the Los Angeles Times:

"If it's to be a bloodbath, let it be now. Appeasement is not the answer."

1. Allow the public (and the off-Party Legislators) actually READ bills before voting on them. Obama will never do this because none of his hare-brained schemes or naked power grabs could stand the light of day.2. Stop spending money that our children haven't earned yet. Yes, deficits are sometimes a necessary evil, but Obama has deliberately forced us into an economic death spiral. The CBO calculates that within 10 years, the national debt will be 90% of our GDP. No nation can survive that, and yet Obama blithely ignores it. 3. Reverse his short-sighted and petulant foreign policy. Rather than alienating our allies while sucking up to our adversaries, Obama needs to step back and realize what he doesn't know. Messing with the aspirations and security of Central Europe, dumbly watching as all remnants of the Monroe Doctrine are forgotten and kicking sand in the face of the only Democracy in the Mideast might work in a Harvard classroom, but not in the real world.

Can I pile on?A big reason I dont believe the whole Tea thing is that yall are so picky about what you want to cut from the budget-defense?space program?medicare?social security?I know you will say that opposing viewpoints have been pushed aside in the Obama admn-but you really havent brought much. [again dont try to insert tax cuts here] What IS the plan?You are marginalized and you are mad- I get that.

Have you ever considered the possibility that there might be other reasons why people don't feel compelled to respond to your comments?

Probably because they run into perpetually offended, hypersensitive types like "Fen" who seem to suffer under the illusion that "libtard" is a phrase that advances whatever ingenious ideas he must be hiding from everybody.

For Urbanritmolegend, politics is utterly superficial. He confuses his poorly conceived aesthetic for philosophical depth. That's how it goes when you are stoned all the time and not educated.

I'm sure you have some very, very deep thoughts on politics to share, Machos-Man.

So why have you never posted them?

And I'm sure your education qualifies you to do many more things than merely engage in courtroom antics?

So why the suspense on that score?

All this bullshit merely because I noticed that Scott Brown is yet merely another a media attention item whose expiration on his 15 minutes went unnoticed by Althouse, and who is only of interest to people who simply wish to publish whatever noise stimulates the ears and antennas of the hard-core right-wing.

Fascinating that you stopped by my sideshow vanity project blog, Ritmourbanlegend. Note that I've not stopped by yours, if you have one. I do find it interesting, though, that I am the subject of your attention.

It's a lot like these nutty tea parties, really. Leftist tools like you are constantly talking about them. How much time do they spend talking about you? Who is driving the discourse here? Who is the agent of political change?

Incidentally, I use the word tool in its definitional sense: an object used by others to accomplish something.

I know you have to be smart enough to see exactly what I mean after reading the replies to my first comment.

Before the election, I actually opposed Obama, even as those who "oppose" him now are still helping him. Instead of doing even simple research such as glancing through my thousands of posts since 2002, all your buddies in the teaparties can do is smear and engage in counter-productive activities.

Maybe it's because they just aren't that smart, maybe it's because they're actually on Obama's side: I don't know. I do know it's a bit shocking to see a law professor (other than a yahoo like Reynolds) support such an incredibly and in most cases intentionally dumb movement. Would you run Brawndo ads or something?

P.S. For yet another example of how teapartiers hurt themselves, instead of trying to get Sonia Sotomayor to withdraw as I urged them to do, r/w bloggers and teapartiers either said nothing or just caved. They were too busy whining about temporary fiscal issues to care about something that's going to negatively affect the U.S. for decades. Instead of opposing Obama, those r/w bloggers and teapartiers helped him.

Dude...Libtard...Fool: you are talking about tea parties. Therefore, tea parties are driving the discourse. This is what could be called logical, indisputable, objective, obvious, plain fact.

You seem to have a problem understanding how conversation topics are chosen. Just because I like to visit this bubble and respond to the thoughtless blather with some criticism doesn't mean that the topics of the posts resonate in the real world.

How often is Althouse or Reynolds linked to by anyone in the outside world? What happens here is nothing more than parlor room chat. It may reflect the topics of the day. But usually it's just about what interests Althouse. And her never-changing commentary posse.

Ritmourbanlegend -- I am trying to get you to see that Palin has more money and power than you could ever hope to have.

Hmmm... I didn't know about "ever hope to have", but I wasn't aware I needed you to point out the present situation. OTOH, it's nice to witness the hard-right appeal to totalitarian authority as the answer to criticism.

Therefore, you look very foolish when you clamor that she is stupid.

No I don't. Only an idiot believes it takes unvarnished cunning (let alone intelligence in the abstract) to achieve positions of power.

The fact of the matter is that the right is now choosing symbolic figureheads to lead them. Credentials of competence are entirely secondary, if they even figure into the game plan at all.

If you are so smart, why are you powerless and poor? Is it because you are ugly? Is it because you weren't born into wealth like Palin or educated at the finest schools like Palin? Wait...

Jeremy -- Please let me know the last time I heard last from Beck, Hannity Limbaugh and others via Fox and conservative radio.

Further, Ritmourbanlegend is actually a prince compared to your trollery here. He does share many characteristics with you, though, including a strange propensity to change identities.

But tell us, Jeremy: tell us about your conception of free speech and how it relates to middle school teachers using school computers for radical political purposes. You have gone strangely silent on that thread. Was it the manner in which you got so thoroughly schooled?

For a guy that likes to define intelligence, he sure doesn't seem to convey it.

Tea Parties were the whole topic of the link. If Althouse only wants to reference Brown and Obama in her meta-narrative, how does that change her obsession with looking to news items that revolve around Tea Parties for inspiration/material?

Palin came into play because she is (or was) the other source for inspiration. I couldn't reference a change in Professor Althouse's blogging habits without mentioning what the change came from and changed to.

Instapundit I have never mentioned before and only brought up to show how cloistered your bubble is.

1. George W. Bush expanded government more than any previous President, lowered taxes on the wealthiest Americans, got us into two wars that are estimated to add 7 trillion to out deficit over the next ten years, was asleep at the switch as the real estate market melted down, asleep at the switch while the financial houses raped the markets, left behind a massive deficit, signed an 800 billion dollar bailout, and the unemployment rate was at 8.5% when he walked out the door. (Blaming Obama for what was left behind is disingenuous and ridiculous.)

2. President Obama has cut taxes on any family making less than $250,000 and any individual making less than $200,000. He's also provided a 35 tax credit to small businesses who hire, increasing to 50% next year.

3. Show me where the current government is any more "intrusive" than what we have seen over the past 4 decades. As for eliminating "government" from your life, are you implying you will not accept Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Benefits or if unemployed...unemployment benefits?

Your points are right out of the mouth of my previously mentioned conservatives: Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh.

Jeremy -- How is it that you know all these things that these conservatives you hate say? Clearly, you listen to, or watch, or read them far more than I do.

Isn't it the height of hypocrisy for you to charge people with paying attention to these people when you obviously pay far more attention to them than everyone else? It's like a crack addict telling me to cut down on my cocaine usage.

Of course, you are a silly person with no self-awareness. So you got that going for you, which is nice.

Out of your vacuousness, I chose this because it is such a gem. President Obama certainly doesn't meet that criteria. After all, he's a state senator with a Nobel Prize.

Actually, he was president when he was awarded the Nobel. Approval from abroad really rankles you guys, doesn't it?

Anyway, apparently his capabilities are still up for debate. Was passage of the health care bill something that only a "figurehead" could pull off? Because if so, there's a lot of monumental legislation coming your way! You know, because it's so easy to do!

I suppose "vacuousness" is your way of saying "commentary too thoughtful for me to think of a quick and witty courtroom response to shoot it down!"

You know who's really "mad" at the Tea Parties? It's not the lifelong conservatives. It's the people who never really got into politics until the Obama celebrity machine rolled into town. These people, who made up the decisive 5-10% of the population that swung the vote to Obama, are truly pissed off. They were lied to. They were made fools of. They rallied around a man who openly despises them now that he's in power. Conservatives always knew Obama would be a disaster, so there's nothing to be upset about. The "middle" is just now figuring out that they've been duped, and they won't forget it in 2012. And that spells Bye-Bye, Barry.At least he'll finally have something to write about.

Dude, you missed the joke so utterly and completely that it's painful. Yet, of course, you are much more intelligent than Sarah Palin. I bet all your intelligence and a couple dollars will get you a ride on public transportation.

Seven Machos said..."Jeremy -- How is it that you know all these things that these conservatives you hate say? Clearly, you listen to, or watch, or read them far more than I do."

See, now that's exactly what I mean when I say that you don't think before posting inane comments.

I read through 3-4 newspapers a day, periodicals and of course visit various blog sites that reflect the daily news, commentaries and opinions.

As for knowing what "conservatives" say, I don't listen to Beck, Hannity or Limbaugh, but it's hard to miss their opinions and influence, considering the constant bloviating via elected GOP individuals and the skewing of real facts by the talking heads you revere that turn up in articles and reports you consistently quote.

Oh, and once again; you and others here constantly use the term "hate" when in fact, I don't "hate" any of the people we're discussing, nor do I "hate" anybody here.

I just find most of them and you to be less than honest in your criticism of our president.

I have yet to read a comment here, via the regulars like yourself, that is complimentary of literally anything our president has ever said or done.

Dude, you missed the joke so utterly and completely that it's painful.

What point? That being elected president is not a greater achievement than not being elected vice president?

Does it pain you to fuck-up your own talking points that badly?

Yet, of course, you are much more intelligent than Sarah Palin. I bet all your intelligence and a couple dollars will get you a ride on public transportation.

Surely your vitriolic hatred toward the indigent is an inspiration to everyone. It's an inspiration to everyone who aspires to what must surely be your exalted position in life, if only they realized that contempt and vitriol were the missing ingredients.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

It's sad when the best of a President's ability to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" involves public expression of disdain (presented as amusement)towards fellow citizens peacefully acting within their Constitutional rights.

15 months in which he spotted himself a TRILLION dollars. And we're still nowhere near as economically healthy as when he started "fixing" things. He'll never, ever get either the unemployment numbers or the deficit numbers down to the good old days of Bush. He's a failure despite granting himself every advantage. Come November, we are going to begin regurgitating the garbage he's currently ramming down our throats. After that, when he no longer has the protection of both the Speaker and the Sen Prez, he'll drop all pretense and start his campaign. I for one can't wait to see it. I can already picture the MSM puzzling over how tens of millions of Americans turned into rabid racists in four short years.

MamaM said..."It's sad when the best of a President's ability to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" involves public expression of disdain (presented as amusement)towards fellow citizens peacefully acting within their Constitutional rights."

It's called freedom of speech, and anybody who thinks this is the very first president to respond to such nonsensical tripe put out by groups like the tea baggers needs to read more.

And can I assume you feel it's okay for these people to carry signs depicting President Obama as Hitler or calling him a Muslim or a Marxist or denying he's an American citizen?

A big reason I dont believe the whole Tea thing is that yall are so picky about what you want to cut from the budget

What would I cut? You could start with about half of the bureaucrats that work in most public sector agencies. Notice I said most, not all. Some agencies and the folks in them do a lot of hard work- but many others don't. They sit around watching the clock, waiting for their pensions. And that's not based on stereotypes- I worked in the public sector for close to a decade. The waste and inefficiency was appalling. These days the private sector is downsizing, why should the public sector be exempt?

Get rid of Social Security. I am 47, and have never once thought I would ever get that money back. As a young person I assumed the program would be insolvent by the time I qualified. Other people I know who are my age or younger feel the same way. So SS and medicare are not untouchable sacred cows to me. Slash the program, let people keep their wages and plan for their retirement. If they do it poorly and become impoverished, then let them apply for welfare and food stamps; programs that are necessary unless we want the incompetent starving in the streets.

I have no problem with programs designed to help people who are truly disabled or mentally ill. If we got rid of a lot of the waste in the public sector, we could better aid those who are really helpless.

I also don't have a problem with contemplating lowering the minimum wage to reflect the real value of unskilled labor. But no one, Dem or Repub will ever go there. Instead with a wink and a nod they will turn a blind eye and allow illegals to flood in as a working underclass to be exploited, rather than face the issues of wages and immigration head on.

I could go on and expound, but I won't. It's not worth my time or effort, since most of the folks doing the asking probably don't really care.

Seems to me there is a tendency to assume that blogs somehow have the same cachet as publications. A blog is nothng more than a dressed up 1990s USENET flame war--We (me included) engage in these interactions because it amuses us.

Blogs are not scholarly publications (although even those have declined in quality precipitously over the past 10 years). My thought is simply to keep a blog in perspective, which, IMO, is a forum to spout and vent.Blogs are USENET redux.

If some of the posters here want their ideas to be considered in an academic context, there a host of scholarly publications that will permit them to do so. Plus you get the advantage of editorial support which does allievate things like my tendency to mistype and not proofread the crap that I write on blogs.

BTW Master Cylinder; I'm not trying to say you are one of the ones who doesn't care.

But frankly I think it is a waste of time trying to post detailed, seriously thought out posts in most blog comment sections. For some reason, the mood is just not conducive to serious discussion, wedged in between floating logs and requests for dick-sucking.

If a person is really interested in the Tea Party agenda (since in my previous comment, I was speaking for myself) they should do some research. Attend a rally, look online or attend a meeting. If you are looking for specific details, you may want to focus on the later two options, since the rallies I have been to have been short on specifics.